Acceptable Threat Numbers For Healer

Since the release of the Group Finder tool I have been doing a lot more FP's. The quality of my gear has also gone way up (thanks for the BH comms BioWare, love it!). I now find myself in FP's where as the healer I sometimes have 2 or 3k health more than the tank and about 2 tiers of gear above. I also find myself drawing a lot of attention from mobs.

So yesterday I got SWmoniTOR and ran the parser while I did an FP and found that once I would get into my rotation healing everyone I was generating about 1.1k threat on average (the highest was 1.3k). Is that high? I don't know what the tank was generating because it was a random FP and we didn't sync up but from people's experience is that acceptable? It's not always isolated to tanks/players that have less gear than me sometimes I'll pull aggro right off a similarly geared tank with a couple of heals.

I chuckled when I read that because people are currently (some) complaining that tanks Guard their healer.

Have your tank guard you. Also, make sure the DPS are picking up the random normal mobs in a pack. SWTOR tanks often don't (the tank dynamics are somewhat different from the traditional WoW "gather them all up" model.) They leave it up to the DPS to burn down the normals and then work up through silver/gold/etc.

So yesterday I got SWmoniTOR and ran the parser while I did an FP and found that once I would get into my rotation healing everyone I was generating about 1.1k threat on average (the highest was 1.3k). Is that high?

No, that's not high. Tanks should be pulling roughly 2k tps. An 'undergeared' one should be at 1.5k at the worst. Throw in taunts/etc.. and you're fine.

PLEASE, don't ask for guard. If so, be understanding if you're removed from the group.

No, that's not high. Tanks should be pulling roughly 2k tps. An 'undergeared' one should be at 1.5k at the worst. Throw in taunts/etc.. and you're fine.

PLEASE, don't ask for guard. If so, be understanding if you're removed from the group.

This one again? For the love of...

I am a tank. I guard my healer. Why? The DPS isn't pulling agro from me. If he, as a healer, is pulling agro...then he NEEDS guard on him. If the tank is holding agro, then he doesn't, but if the tank isn't losing agro to anyone...might as well guard the healer. Its a HM FP where 5% DR isn't saving your DPS because if they get to that point, the healer wasn't about to heal them anyway.

Just due to the way threat works in this game, you're pretty much guaranteed to pull aggro from any mobs that aren't actively being engaged by one of the other party members. You shouldn't be pulling aggro from the primary target after about 20s of fighting, though. If you are, your tank needs to taunt more.

The DPS isn't pulling agro from me. If he, as a healer, is pulling agro...then he NEEDS guard on him.

What is with the aversion to guarding healers?

That means your dps is bad. DPS should be able to top over 2k tps, especially on trash packs. The fact that, in a flash point, your dps aren't pulling aggro isn't a sign of your amazing abilities as a tank. It's a sign of their sub-par DPS abilities. If the healer is able to out TPS BOTH dps in a FP, I'd either 1) leave myself or 2) kick both DPS. If you enjoy tanking FPs with DPS doing under 1k DPS at PEAK... have fun.

That means your dps is bad. DPS should be able to top over 2k tps, especially on trash packs. The fact that, in a flash point, your dps aren't pulling aggro isn't a sign of your amazing abilities as a tank. It's a sign of their sub-par DPS abilities. If the healer is able to out TPS BOTH dps in a FP, I'd either 1) leave myself or 2) kick both DPS. If you enjoy tanking FPs with DPS doing under 1k DPS at PEAK... have fun.

This is why the aversion to guarding healers.

Well, by your math, if I guard one DPS I should ALWAYS lose threat to the other DPS, right? But that doesn't happen. Why? Because you're wrong. You were right a month ago when the gear differential was greater. But now that it isn't...I'm not losing agro. This game is all gear (and some skill.) Now, a fully campaign geared DPS randomly showing up in an HM FP? Yeah, I probably guard him.

If a healer is pulling aggro it comes down to one thing: the tank has dropped the ball somehow.

There is NO reason to guard a healer. It's a waste of the skill. it should go to a DPS, preferably a melee DPS (they generate higher threat due to proximity to the mob). In addition, the -5% damage reduction benefits a melee DPS the most.

Whenever i see guard on a healer it's a sign the tank has no idea what he or she is doing. Please don't do it. It's a waste.

Thanks for the replies/ advice! I'm not sure if I was guarded during the times I pulled aggro I'll have be more aware of this in the future. Good to know I'm not over doing it and making life difficult for the tank. Although I have noticed trauma probe is a great way to pull adds/nutaunted trash. Once the tank leaps in and and activates that first tick on TP everyone is coming for me.

As for asking for guard I never do that. I always give the tank the benefit of the doubt at first and assume they know what they're doing and if they're not guarding me they have a reason. I'm also not a fan of having to be so close to the fight. My heals can reach 30m so getting within 15 seems a little unnecessarily close for me. It helps to stay out of AoE's being further away and for some reason people love standing in them so it makes easier on me to only have to heal 3 people instead of 4.

If a healer is pulling aggro it comes down to one thing: the tank has dropped the ball somehow.

There is NO reason to guard a healer. It's a waste of the skill. it should go to a DPS, preferably a melee DPS (they generate higher threat due to proximity to the mob). In addition, the -5% damage reduction benefits a melee DPS the most.

Whenever i see guard on a healer it's a sign the tank has no idea what he or she is doing. Please don't do it. It's a waste.

Again, 5% DR is nada for a DPS in a HM FP. If he's 3% away from dying the healer wasn't healing him regardless. And if he isn't ripping agro...he doesn't need it. The statement "never put guard on a healer" is ignorant in so many ways. Is it always correct to put it on the healer? No. Is it always correct to put it on the melee DPS? No. Both are equally ignorant and equally lazy.

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The statements and opinions expressed on these websites are solely those of their respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the views, nor are they endorsed by Bioware, LucasArts, and its licensors do not guarantee the accuracy of, and are in no way responsible for any content on these websites.